WPR

New Hampshire Population 2015

Towards the northeastern edge of the United States, the land that makes up New Hampshire is one of the smallest in the country. What it lacks in size, however, this tiny state more than makes up for in terms of history.

This was one of the original thirteen states that made up the country and was the first to break away from Great Britain in 1776. This is therefore one of the proudest state populations here as well as being one of the biggest. New Hampshire currently has a population in 2013 estimated at 1,322,847, a sizable increase over its population of 1.31 million at the 2010 Census. It does have one of the slowest growth rates in the country at just 0.16%, which ranks 45th in the country. This isn't surprising, given its small size.

New Hampshire Population 2014

As with any state, the most recent set of figures in relation to the population of New Hampshire dates from the last nationwide census of 2010. That survey confirmed that there were 1,316,470 people here and that figure was up by 6.5% on the numbers declared at the 2000 Census. The 2013 estimate for New Hampshire places the population at 1,322,847, though, making this the 42nd most populous state in the US.

New Hampshire Population Density

New Hampshire covers a very small area and a proportion of its territory is very mountainous, with some of the largest ski mountains on the East Coast. However, it is fairly densely populated in comparison to its size and it ranks 21st in the country in this respect.

With a land mass of 9,304 square miles, there are only four states that are smaller than New Hampshire but for every square mile of land there is an average of 147 people here.

The largest city in New Hampshire is, of course, Manchester. It is the only city in the state with more than 100,000 residents (its exact population, as recorded by the 2010 census, is 109,565). Nashua (pop: 86,494) is the only other city in the state with a population of over 50,000.

The northern third of the state has just 5% of the state's total population and suffers from high poverty rates. It also steadily loses population as paper and logging industries decline, although it does remain popular as a tourist destination.

New Hampshire Demographics

According to the 2010 Census, the demographic split of New Hampshire is:

The largest ancestry groups in New Hampshire including French and French Canadian (23.2%), Irish (21.5%), English (17.9%), Italian (9.9%), German (9.3%) and American (6.1%). The large population of Irish and French-Canadian populations are mostly the descendents of mill works, and many still reside in former mill towns. New Hampshire has the second largest percentage of French/French-Canadian/Acadian ancestry in the country, after Maine.

New Hampshire Population History

The first set of widely available population for New Hampshire figures date back to 1790 when, little more than a decade after the declaration of Independence, it was shown that 141,885 people were living in the state. Ten years later, the 1800 survey showed that those numbers had climbed to 183,858, a rise of 29.6% in just a decade.

From there onwards, the population of New Hampshire grew at a steady, albeit not particularly spectacular rate, with growth averaging at around 5% per decade, with the occasional small decrease in population (such as between 1870 and 1880, when the population dropped by 2.4%). By the beginning of the 20th century, New Hampshire’s population had increased to 411,588.

The same rates of growth continued through the first half of the 20th century but, in the second half of the century NH experienced another population boom. Between 1960 and 2000, the state’s population more than doubled, largely because of the so-called Massachusetts Transplants – people moving from a more crowded urban area to a more relaxed rural area.

The growth rate has slowed slightly as we enter the 21st century but remains on an upward trend.

New Hampshire Population Growth

New Hampshire has such a small amount of land, much of it rugged terrain, that growth can only be maintained for so long. New Hampshire's population has been growing quickly for decades, but researchers have found this growth rate is slowing down. A large reason for the growth has been families moving from elsewhere in the country, particularly Massachusetts, but this trend is changing.

The growth rate in New Hampshire is now the slowest it has been in 50 years, while the state's population is also aging rapidly as families are not moving in with children as they once did.

While this all sounds dire, New Hampshire is growing, just slowly. With its current growth rate, one of the lowest in the country, it's population is expected to grow from the current 1.32 million in 2013 to 1.47 million in 2020, at which point its percentage of people over 65 disproportionately high compared to the U.S. as a whole.